Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 16 mini cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:
1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
2 Tablespoons butter
cinnamon
brown sugar

For the maple icing:
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon skim milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to crescent roll dough package directions. Layout half the dough (4 triangles) and pinch all the seams together. Flip over and pinch the seams on the back side together too.
2. Using a rolling pin, smooth the seams and roll the dough into a square about 1/4″ thick. Brush with half the butter, and sprinkle with as much cinnamon and brown sugar as you want. Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces.
3. Place mini cinnamon rolls into a non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other half of the crescent roll dough. Bake according to package directions.
4. Meanwhile whisk together maple syrup and milk in a bowl. Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.

You can get them ready to go the night before, cover with saran wrap and put them in the fridge. Bake the next morning. Don't use too much brown sugar or they take a long time to cook and end up caramalizing on the bottom.  

http://iowagirleats.com/2011/11/23/8-minute-mini-cinnamon-rolls/

Basic Donuts

Donut

1/3 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 c. flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk

Cream butter and sugar; add beaten egg mix well, add milk, then add dry ingredients. Spoon mixture in to ziploc bag and fill mini donut maker. Makes 18 

Chocolate Frosting

2 1/2 TBS butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
2 - 3 tablespoons hot water
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 4 TBS)

Creamy Glaze
2 1/2 TBS butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla
2 - 3 tablespoons hot water

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

3-4 TBS hot water

Enough frosting to completely cover 18 mini donuts

For Glaze- http://deep-fried.food.com/recipe/krispy-kreme-doughnuts-copycat-51199?ic1=obnetwork

Pumpkin Bread

  In blue are my alterations to make it Claire friendly (cinnamon free)

ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cloves (3/4 tsp)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (2 tsp allspice)

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (3/4 tsp)

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup butter, really soft, partially melted

3 large eggs

1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin

preheat oven to 350 degrees.  spray two medium or three small loaf pans {i bought the disposable pans so i could give one away and it was enough for three} with nonstick cooking spray.  in a medium bowl, mix the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, set aside.  

in a bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the sugar.  take the butter and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds so that it is partially melted.  pour in with the sugar and add the eggs.  cream these ingredients together on medium speed for about two minutes or until fluffy.  add the pumpkin and combine well.  

in three batches, add the dry ingredients and mix gently until each batch is just incorporated.  scrape the sides between each batch.  pour a third, or a half of the batter into each of the pans.  bake side-by-side for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean and the the tops are golden. I ended up covering it with tinfoil after about 40 min because I was worried the top would burn. I had a big bread pan, if I bought those little disposable pans I would start checking it after 30 min.

http://emmajoyrussell.blogspot.com/2011/10/ultimate-pumpkin-bread.html

Carmelized Tomato Bruchetta (GRILL)

1 Baguette

1 pt. cherry tomatoes halved

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Fresh Basil leaves

Put cast iron skillet on grill to preheat for 8-10 minutes. Coat pan with 1.5T olive oil. Put cut tomatoes (cut side down-though I've never done this) in pan and close grill lid. (You don't really need to stir them or anything) Cook for 10-15 minutes until slightly blackened. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl and drizzle with balsamic.

Slice baguette diagonally and brush both sides of slices with olive oil. Place on grill to toast. Turn once to toast both sides. 1-3 min/side. (I put them on the top warming rack on the grill and toasted them there)

Put ricotta in bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Put shredded basil in another bowl. Build your own bruchetta with the toast, ricotta cheese, tomatoes and basil. YUM.

Really nice addition to a BBQ dinner....whatever it is.

Whole Wheat Butterhorns

2 packages dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons. oil
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2-2 1/2 cups flour
6 tablespoons soft butter
 (hs note: I also ended up using one egg, lightly beaten to give the rolls a quick brush before popping them in the oven.)

1. Dissolve yeast in water.
2. Add brown sugar, oil, honey, salt, and 1 1/2 cups whole what flour. Mix well.
3. Stir in remaining whole wheat flour and enough flour to make a stiff dough.
4. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Divide into 3 equal pieces. Shape into balls. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Roll each ball into a 10-inch circle. Spread with 1/3 butter (hs note: I used melted butter). Cut each circle into 8 wedges (hs note: like pizza slices). To shape rolls, begin at wide end of wedge and roll toward point. Place on greased baking sheet.

7. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes. (hs note: this is when I brush the dough with the egg wash to get a nice golden crust). Bake in 375F oven for 12-15 minutes. Brush with milk or butter while still warm.

Biscuits

I made these this morning and it didn't take very long and they were really good. I used whole wheat flour to make them a little healthier :)

2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Topping:

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender, two knives, or fingertips). Add the milk and slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined. (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)

Place mixture on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.

Roll out dough to 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thickness. Cut out biscuits with a lightly floured round cookie cutter. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg and milk mixture and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the biscuit comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter.

Makes about 12 3-inch (7.5 cm) biscuits.

Cinnamon Rolls

Mmmm, I got this recipe here, a great food blog! My frosting was in the fridge overnight and we didn't have powdered sugar, so we took regular sugar and put it in the food processor :), so it didn't spread as nicely as hers does, but they were really really good! I kept eating the frosting by itself. Nothing like butter, sugar, and cream cheese.

Ingredients:
DOUGH:

4 cups flour (I sift 4 cups of whole wheat flour)
1/2 oz yeast
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
1/2 cup butter, creamed (which apparently means mix it for 10 minutes with a little sugar)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve 2 packages of yeast in 1/2 cup of very warm (not more than about 100F) water and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit. In a small saucepan, warm butter and milk to about 100F. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook (or by hand with a spatula) combine dissolved yeast and the butter mixture on low. Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar, then the egg.
Add salt and 2 cups of flour on low, mix until smooth. Slowly mix in the remaining 2 cups of flour. The mixture should become a sticky dough at this time. Scrape out the dough onto floured counter top. Knead dough until it doesn't stick to your hands, adding small amounts of flour (up to 1/2 cup) as needed.
Place in a greased bowl. Cover with damp cloth and let rise for about 45 minutes or until it doubles in size. Preheat oven to 350. Remove dough from bowl and place on a floured counter. Roll out in a 12 by 24 inch rectangle. The dough should be about an inch thick.
Using your fingers or a spatula, spread 1/2 cup of the very soft, creamed butter over dough. In small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough. Roll dough into a tight log. Cut into 1 inch thick slices.
Place in 2 ungreased, 9 inch round cake pans, forming a circle with one roll in the middle. Allow to rise about 1/2 hour until they are about level to the top of the cake pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, then test for doneness. Pay careful attention to the creases where the rolls touch each other. Return to oven 5-10 additional minutes as needed. Remove to a wire rack or invert on a plate and ice.

Cream Cheese icing

Ingredients:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly. Spread over warm sweet rolls.

Before:
After:

Dinner Rolls

I made these tonight and they were so good. Not healthy, but good :). I halved it and made a little more than 2 dozen, which 6 people devoured (made it with the taco soup).

1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbs yeast
2 cups scalded milk (microwave 1 min per cup or do this) cooled for 5 minutes
1/4-1/2 c. sugar
1/4-1/2 c. butter
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
5-6 c. bread flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside. Combine scalded milk, sugar, butter, and salt with 3 c. flour. Beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and dissolved yeast, then add additional flour to make a soft dough. Knead well. Let rise until double (30-45 minutes). Shape as desired. Let rise again. Bake dinner rolls at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Yield: 4 dozen dinner rolls.